Diversion via Aughnagurgan Tombs - 1.9 miles

This additional diversion on Part 2 of our walk around Keady is 1.9 miles. It starts at the X-junction of Upper Darkley Road and Mountain Lodge Road Irish Grid Ref. H 86377 29775 (see at Google Street View). You can also download a GPX Map at MapMyWalk. Also, see lime green optional diversion on Interactive Google Map. 

If you choose to add this additional diversion, then it should be very easy to follow. It's a bit hilly, but there are great views of Tullynawood Lake, Mullyash Mountain and the surrounding countryside. Also, you'll get to see the Aughnagurgan Megalithic Tombs and possibly a few extras.

When I eventually came up with a route for this walk, which I thought would work, I wasn't sure whether to include this loop or not. However, when researching this area I found two papers at JSTOR about a poem from the Book of Leinster named “An Ancient Poet’s View from Sliabh Fuaid”. This distracted me from the walk for over five weeks as I tried to decipher the poem. You can read about my attempt at Sliabh Fuaid. In the end, after going out to look at it on the ground and due to it being a loop, I decided to include it as an option.

At 4.8 miles (on Part 2 of walk), instead of turning very sharp right into Upper Darkley Road, turn left and uphill along narrow road and past a farmhouse. The road is unsigned but is another branch of Upper Darkley Road.

Soon you'll have great views, down to your right, over Tullynawood Lake. Then after 350 yards, as you pass a large farm, there are good views to Mullyash Mountain in the distance.

After 0.84 miles the road turns sharp right and downhill past an empty farmhouse. On the corner of the sharp bend is a gate and just past it and over the hedgerow is Aughnagurgan Passage Tomb (aka. "The Giant's Grave") and across the field are the remains of Aughnagurgan Portal Tomb. (also see link). When I took the two photos below, I didn't visit the portal tomb.

You can listen to a podcast about both tombs, entitled "The Giant's Grave - The King's Grave", by the Friends of Sliabh Fuait at SoundCloud. 

The road descends sharply, past a derelict farmhouse, and after 180 yards to a junction. Turn right, and now on another branch of Upper Darkley Road.

At the junction, look into the field on the right and you will see a stone sticking up from the ground. Initially, I took this to be a standing stone, but after checking all old maps, I thought it's a stone placed there by the farmer to mark something in the ground, to help stop from damaging his machinery. Later, I found out some old maps had a well at this point in the field, so the stone seems to mark the well.

The junction in the photo above found fame during the Circuit of Ireland in 1999. It was the finish of two stages in the car rally. They were named the Drumbunion Stages and were stages 3 and 6 in the rally. These started just north of Tullynawood Lake, were 10.23 km and followed narrow roads through Tullyglush, Cargaclogher, Racarbry, Darkley and Aughnagurgan townlands. Local man, Andrew Nesbitt, won both of these stages and finished second overall in that year's rally - Bertie Fisher beat him by just over a minute (see Final Result). Our walk follows many of the same roads. You can read more and see a map of the stages at Circuit of Ireland Rally 1999.

In total six of the first seven stages were in South Armagh and in this area of the Fews (see map of three routes used twice). Andrew Nesbitt also won Deadman's Hill 1 and Black Hill 2. He was second on on Black Hill 2 and third on Deadman's Hill 2. You can read more about Andrew Nesbitt at Wikipedia and watch a video of the 1999 Circuit of Ireland below.

Continue along this new Upper Darkley Road, and after 0.3 miles stay straight on past a narrow road going off sharp left.

The field to the left of this junction runs down to the shore of Tullynawood Lake. Half was down once stood a megalithic tomb. According to Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Records:

"The position of this monument is remembered locally, although it was removed in the late 1950s, and the only visible remains are 3 broken & displaced stones. In a field notebook of the 1930, Prof. Estyn Evans sketched the site showing 2 upright stones, one 0.9m high ,the other slightly lower, separated by a space of 0.45m. These may have been portals or the jambs of a megalithic tomb. Three other stones are indicated but were probably not in situ."

The stone which remained were locally known as "The Oul Stones". I'm not sure if they are still here. Friends of Sliabh Fuait have a Driving Tour around the local area with podcasts of each stop on SoundCloud. If you follow the link to "8 Tullynawood Lough" it mentions a now destroyed Clan Lir Grave on the lake shore. Could this have been the grave they are referring to? Is this the grave of the Children of Lir? The podcast goes on to talk about Tullynawood meaning "the hill of the sods" and refers to the three graves in this area. The other two being Aughnagurgan Passage Tomb (aka. "The Giant's Grave") and Aughnagurgan Portal Tomb. (aka "The King's Grave"), which I mentioned earlier.

The landscape around this area is hilly and the border with County Monaghan is just a few hundred yards to the south, so below is a beautiful version of a song named "Hills of South Armagh" and sang by Aoife Scott.

After another 0.65 miles, you are back at the X-junction where you started this diversion. Veer half left and downhill, with Tullynawood Lake to your left had side. You are now back to just after the 4.8 mile instruction on Part 2 of this walk.

The low road, Upper Darkley Road, past Tullynawood Lake has some great views over the lake and to the hills around it. If you have chosen to add this to your walk, I really hope it was worthwhile. I believe you will have done. 

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